1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to broadband telecommunications, and particularly to a system and method for automatic configuration of a Bi-directional Internet Protocol (IP) communication device, such as a DSL gateway or modem.
2. Description of Related Art
While high-speed Internet connections to large businesses have been in existence for quite some time, high speed Internet connections to homes and small businesses have only recently become more commonplace. Bi-directional
IP communication technologies such as ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), Cable, Satellite, and DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), are all competing for market share. The two technologies at the forefront, DSL and Cable, offer much faster Internet access than dial-up modems, for a cost substantially lower than ISDN.
Analog modems over regular telephone lines are not fast enough for today's broadband multi-media content. In fact, so-called 56 Kbps modems actually move data at approximately 44 Kbps because of telephone-line imperfections. Furthermore, these modems only reach that speed when receiving data, not sending it.
Basic ISDN transfers data at 56 Kbps, while an improved form of ISDN has a maximum speed of 128 Kbps. ISDN is, however, expensive, running up to several hundreds of dollars a month. Furthermore, ISDN is only approximately four times the speed of a 33.6 Kbps modem.
Another option, satellite, which uses the same type of mini-dish antenna typical of broadcast television can receive data at up to 400 Kbps. However, transmitted data still has to be sent through a traditional analog modem at 33.6 Kbps or 56 Kbps.
Cable modems, enable one to hook up a PC to a local cable television line and receive data at about 1.5 Mbps. This data rate far exceeds that of both 56 Kbps analog modems, and the 128 Kbps of ISDN. The actual bandwidth for Internet service over a cable TV line is up to 27 Mbps for receiving data, and up to about 2.5 Mbps of bandwidth for transmitting data. However, since the local provider may not be connected to the Internet on a line faster than a T-1 at 1.5 Mbps, a more likely data rate will be closer to 1.5 Mbps. Cable, however, suffers the drawback that it is carried on existing cable television lines, which not all homes, and especially not all small businesses are equipped with. Furthermore, available bandwidth is shared with other cable users in the same geographic area.
DSL, on the other hand, is 20 times faster than satellite connections, 60 times faster than ISDN, and 250 times faster than 33.6 Kbps analog modems. DSL, as used herein, refers to different variations of DSL, such as ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), HDSL (High bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line), and RADSL (Rate Adaptive Digital Subscriber Line).
Assuming that the location of one's home or business is close enough to a telephone company central office that offers DSL service, one can receive data at rates up to 6.1 megabits (millions of bits) per second. More typically, individual connections will provide from 1.544 Mbps to 512 Kbps downstream and about 128 Kbps upstream. Best of all, those bits are transmitted via the same copper wire one uses for telephone calls, but without the complex setup of ISDN. DSL does this by taking advantage of unused frequencies that exist on standard telephone lines. An added advantage is that the original POTS (plain-old telephone service) frequencies remain free to handle voice traffic over the same copper wires. Yet another advantage is that one does not share the line with others in the same geographical area. Within a few years, DSL is expected to replace ISDN in many areas and to compete with the cable modem in bringing multimedia to homes and small businesses around the world.
One of the major problems facing the rollout of DSL connections is the cost and complexity of initial setup of a DSL gateway (or modem) at a remote location. This is because most DSL technologies require a manual configuration of the gateway and client computer at a home or business, requiring the expense of a visit by a technician to the remote location for setup of the telephone line and installation and configuration of the DSL gateway and client computer. It has been estimated, that a typical service call to install and configure a DSL gateway, currently costs in the region of $300 for the DSL service provider.
The use of signal splitters has reduced the cost of rolling out DSL service, as they reduce the complexity of initial setup for DSL consumers. A signal splitter is a device for isolating voice and data signals transmitted on normal analog telephone wires. The splitter, essentially, comprises a low pass filter that differentiates between data and voice signals. As most homes and offices have at least two pairs of twisted copper wires (hereafter “twisted pairs”), the splitter typically divides data to an outer pair of the wires and voice to an inner twisted pair of the wires. Therefore, voice communication devices can only be plugged into communication-jacks that connect to the inner twisted pair, and data communication devices can only be plugged into communication-jacks that are connected to the outer twisted pair. The DSL consumer, however, must ensure that the correct devices are plugged into the correct communication-jacks, and ensure that line converters are installed between the devices and the communication-jacks to switch inner and outer pairs, if necessary.
More recently, micro-filters or μfilters for splitting data and voice signals have been developed. These μfilters are also low pass filters that are placed between each POTS device and a regular telephone jack. The μfilters, therefore, allow two copper wires to be utilized instead of four, as there is no division of data and voice at a central splitter. A typical double twisted pair analog telephone line can, therefore, support two independent data and/or voice communication lines.
However, even with the above described advances, DSL consumers typically still have to configure their DSL gateways themselves. Typically, the consumer must manually enter configuration information, such as their telephone numbers and other information supplied by the DSL service provider, into their client computers. In addition, the DSL service provider also typically spends a substantial amount of resources providing telephone assistance to talk DSL consumers through the installation and configuration process. Often, the service provider still needs to send technicians out to the consumer to install and configure the DSL system. This process is both costly and time consuming.
A need therefore exists for an automatically configurable DSL gateway that can be installed by a consumer with little, or no, technical skill or know-how.